Dr Jonathan Louw’s young daughters will always remember the first time they could give their father a hug after he spent two months in isolation and apart from his family.
The chief executive of the SA National Blood Service (SANBS) was one of the first South Africans to test positive for Covid-19 after his overseas travels in March.
As there was limited information available about the coronavirus at the time and because Louw is asthmatic and experienced severe symptoms, he spent about eight weeks away from his wife and children, aged 4 and 6.
“One thing my 6-year-old remembers is the day she was able to give daddy a hug again.” “I was in and out of the hospital at the time but when I was in isolation at home, I was in an upstairs room in my house.”
“The room has a balcony and I had to wave down to my children and they couldn’t understand why they couldn’t come inside the room and give me a hug for such a long time,” he told The Saturday Star this week.
Louw said he was able to prevent spreading the disease to his loved ones because he went into quarantine soon after his travels. As a coronavirus survivor, the fight against the pandemic in South Africa is personal for him.
“People say there is a silver lining to every cloud.The fact that I happen to be in charge of the blood service and I was infected right at the very beginning of the outbreak puts us on the front foot in regard to screening, prevention and thinking about ways to help the general public.”
Louw and his team are now working on the Covid-19 Convalescent Plasma Trial which aims to assist those who are hardest hit by the virus.This includes the elderly and those with comorbidities and compromised immune systems.
“With diseases like Ebola and the two other coronaviruses, Sars and Mers, there was some anecdotal data that convalescent plasma could help those struggling to fight the virus,” said Louw.
He explained that this trial entails taking blood from those who have fully recovered from Covid-19 and transferring their antibodies to others who are infected.
During the first phase of the trial, which is under way, Louw and his team harvest antibody-rich plasma from the donors. “All we take out is this golden liquid which is plasma, the stuff that the red and white blood cells float around in, and we return all the cells back to the donor, which means that they can donate a lot more frequently because their bone marrow and organs can replenish the plasma very quickly.”
Louw, who has also donated plasma, explained that the blood of those who were badly affected by Covid-19 could be of more help than others who have had mild symptoms. “We also find that typically its best to donate 28 days after you have had your last symptoms of Covid-19 because patients continue to develop more antibodies later on in their recoveries.” Louw explained that donating plasma to Covid-19 sufferers offers them passive immunity against the virus.
“This is when you basically use someone else’s immune system to help you, because what often happens in this overwhelming disease is that people can’t turn on their immune response quick enough. “It just gives the patient a window of opportunity. While you have got someone else’s plasma circulating in your veins, it gives you a greater chance to switch on your own immune system and start fighting disease as well,” he said.
The SANBS is currently awaiting approval from The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority to continue with the second arm of the trial, which is inserting the plasma into those who need it.
“We are ready to kick off immediately because we have the plasma already in storage to be able to give to patients.” “If the trial shows overwhelmingly positive results, then we will start producing this for as many patients as required as soon as possible – but we first need to prove that it works.”
Apart from the Covid-19 convalescent plasma trial, the SANBS is appealing for blood donations to be used for a variety of medical and surgical purposes during the pandemic.
Louw said that the lockdown had left the country’s blood stock low. “During the early stages of the lockdown, pretty much all elective surgeries were cancelled, so the hospitals were running far below capacity both in the public and private sector.”
But as the infections began to soar, blood supply in the country began to take a dip as people feared going out to donate. “We are in a situation where the optimal blood stock that we would like is what we call five days’ cover, and that means that at any point in time you have enough blood for at least five days, but now we are sitting at around 4.5 days,” he said.
Blood is used for a variety of medical and surgical procedures. “Blood is pretty much known as the cornerstone of health in the country because you can’t run a hospital or any kind of major surgical procedure if you don’t have blood in stock,” he explained.
While he understood the fear of donating during a global health crisis, the SANBS took all the Covid-19 preventative measures, Louw said. This includes regular communication and screening of staff and donations, as well as maintaining high standards of hygiene and sanitation at all donor sites.
“Because there are so few people donating blood in a country like ours which is truly an emerging market that has a lot of poverty and a high burden of disease, if you are fortunate enough to be well fed and disease-free, this is small thing you can do to help – and you really can save a life.”